AutoNation, Huizenga make gift to NSU's business school to aid disadvantaged students

December 13, 2011|By Scott Travis, Sun Sentinel

A major gift from AutoNation and Marti and Wayne Huizenga will be used to create a new scholarship program to help disadvantaged students attend Nova Southeastern University.

The gift, funded by a portion of a more than $1 million donation, was announced Monday night and will be used to create the new Pathway Scholars program.

NSU's H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship will work with Take Stock in Children of Broward County to identify the students. Take Stock helps prepare low-income middle and high school students achieve academic success.

In addition to financial support, the scholarship provides internships, mentorships with business leaders, academic support, a community network of peers and other resources to ensure recipients' academic and social success while pursuing their degree, officials said.

"This is a program about providing individuals who perhaps weren't dealt a particularly great hand a chance to improve their station is life through education," said Mike Fields, dean of the business college. "It's not just about academic development. It's helping them prepare them to successfully transition from their college life to a corporate professional setting."

The first students will start in the summer of 2012. They will have tutors and mentors to introduce them to college life. They will live in a residence hall and work with the same corporate sponsors for four years, officials said.

AutoNation made a $60,000 gift that will sponsor one student through four years at NSU. The Huizenga gift and other corporate sponsors will be used to assist about 15 to 20 students per year, officials said.

"This is the kind of educational program that AutoNation looks to support, and the fact that it's going to be installed at the H. Wayne Huizenga School of Business and Entrepreneurship at Nova Southeastern University has success written all over it," said Mike Jackson, chairman and CEO of AutoNation. "Pathway Scholars will be given every opportunity to succeed in school, in business, and in life. That's our goal. That is our pledge to the students."

The business school will select an initial group of students who "demonstrate leadership, possess emotional strength, are committed to education and success and show academic promise with a high school GPA that is typically 3.5 or higher," according to a release. A selection committee will then make the final choices.

"By working with an established community partner like Take Stock in Children, we know that we are more likely to bring in students who will be a success both academically and emotionally," Fields said.

Fields said the benefits of the program are far-reaching.

"Everyone is served well by this program," he said, "from the students, to the school, all the way to the businesses that will eventually hire these bright young students and the community as a whole."

For more information on the Pathway Scholar program, visit: huizenga.nova.edu/pathway-scholars